Peace Still Remains

Over spring break, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Ecuador with a team from Wesley.  It was such a good trip and I’m so glad we got to go. My take away from our time there was a deep sense of God’s peace. I would look out over the mountains and down into the city of Quito from our house and just think about how small we actually are. This season that we’re in is small compared to the grand scheme of our lives. Not meaning that it’s unimportant. at all. All I’m saying is there’s more to come. This isn’t the end. And that fills my mind with peace. God sees it all. He’s not anxious or worried. He has a hopeful future for us. And that brings me peace.

And then I came back from spring break and was dropped into this crazy world where everything is canceled for the foreseeable future and we have to stay inside and we can’t be with our friends. And it’s hard. I was really upset that all my plans got turned upside down. We were supposed to have more time in this season, but it got cut short. And it’s ok that it’s hard. None of us have dealt with anything like this, so it’s ok that it’s hard. Give yourself grace.
 
I all of a sudden felt like I couldn’t find God because I was in a set of circumstances I’d never been in before. But that’s where God can show up the most. I was so focused on what I was missing out on. What I should have been doing instead of just being where my feet are. All the promises God has made me, all the words God has spoken over me, all the things I know to be true about God, those still remain. They can’t be erased by canceled plans. God is still God, so expect Him to be here with you. That peace that I felt in Ecuador still remains. I forgot it for a bit, but I returned back to it and picked it up.

I think that peace has paved the way for this new season. There is so much time on my hands now. So much time for rest, for trying new things, for creating, and for dreaming. I can have peace because God is my rock in this time of uncertainty. I’m choosing to carry this peace with me when my circumstances tell me otherwise. Because God is the King of every season.
 
So I think the biggest thing to remember in this time is to not view it as you’re missing out on things. That with every day that you have to sit in your house, you’re missing out on the plans you had. That will not create hope in you. Instead, be where your feet are. Use this time to do things that are life-giving to you. Go on walks, bake or cook more, paint, call friends you want to catch up with, learn new things you’ve always wanted to try, give yourself permission to dream up new dreams.

This time is a pause. A time to rest and breathe. But not a stopping point. Know your life with God continues on even during this. In fact, this can be the time when your relationship with God thrives. Give God space to speak. When we’re alone, without all the distractions, there is so much space to hear God. Sometimes He waits until we’re all in, focused on Him to tell us something.  He’s really patient like that. So lean in. A really good song for right now is House on a Hill by Amanda Cook, and in it she says, “some things you can’t know till you’re still.”  So true.
I want to leave y’all with these words from My Soul Sings:

Now I'm dancing on the rising sun
To the hope for future
And the dreams to come
And when seasons change
No I won't give up
Oh You've never failed me
No not once.

I think it’s significant that with this time of social distancing came the beginning of spring. There is a changing of seasons, new life, and a hopeful future. This is not the end. There is more to come.  And we get to slow down and breathe it in.

Author | Sam Forbes